The Management of the University of Jos has claimed that it has allocated 50% of the total budget for the accreditation of the dentistry programme in the university. The spokesperson for UNIJOS, Abdullahi Abdullahi, confirmed to TheMiddlebelt Reporters that there is currently an engagement between the University Administration, the Medical and Dental Council, the Dental Faculty, and students to arrive at the best way forward. Mr Abdullahi stated that over a Hundred Million Naira has been invested in preparing for the accreditation exercise, underscoring the administration’s commitment to ensuring the quality of education provided to our students, adding that the Dentistry programme at the university had been in operation for seven years before the current university administration taking office. “An official statement will be made in this regard immediately after the interaction. There are too many misleading reports going round so I want to be very precise when responding” Abdullahi said. On the shortage of staff, Mr Abdullahi said the university has recruited lecturers that are being paid from the University’s IGR since processes for employment through IPPIS are not forthcoming for now. “There are many other measures being taken which I’ll avail you whenever the official statement is ready.” He added Students from the Faculty of Dental Science at the University of Jos took to the streets on recently, protesting the delayed accreditation of their programmes by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria. Bearing placards with messages like “Unijos is careless over students’ future,” “We deserve better, merge Unijos Dental students,” and “Depression wan kill us, save us please,” the students stormed the university’s permanent site at the Naraguta campus. “We are tired of paying school fees without progress,” read another placard, reflecting the frustration of students who claim that in the faculty’s nine years of existence, not a single graduating set has been produced. Students who identified as Ernest Luke said Since 2021, dentistry students have not taken any exams beyond pathology and pharmacology, adding that the department is facing a shortage of staff thereby relying on guest lecturers. “We don’t have enough staff in the department. No facilities. No test, no exams” Luke lamented. In February, the Plateau State Government donated over 13 dental chairs worth almost ₦50 million to the university’s faculty of dental sciences. While receiving the donation from Governor Caleb Mutfwang. Tanko said the equipment fulfilled a key requirement for the dentistry programme accreditation, potentially ensuring the timely graduation of pioneer dentistry students. The MDCN requires universities to provide qualified staff, support personnel, functional facilities, and a detailed curriculum to obtain a five-year dentistry program accreditation, with an additional fee of roughly ₦4 million.
